# YouTube Community Posts Scraper (`fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper`) Actor Extract public YouTube Community posts, polls, images, likes, and comments from channel URLs or handles into a clean dataset. - **URL**: https://apify.com/fetch\_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Hanna Nosova](https://apify.com/fetch_cat) (community) - **Categories:** Social media, Videos, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.10 / 1,000 item extracteds This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## YouTube Community Posts Scraper Scrape public YouTube Community posts from channel URLs and handles. Collect post text, post URLs, relative publish times, likes, comments, image links, poll metadata, and timestamps in a clean Apify dataset. ### What does YouTube Community Posts Scraper do? YouTube Community Posts Scraper extracts public posts from the Posts tab of YouTube channels. It is designed for teams that need structured Community updates without manually opening every channel. - ✅ Track creator announcements - ✅ Monitor brand and competitor updates - ✅ Collect public engagement metrics - ✅ Export posts to JSON, CSV, Excel, or API - ✅ Support channel URLs and @handles ### Who is it for? #### Social media and creator marketing teams Use the scraper to monitor creator announcements, campaign teasers, audience polls, sponsor reminders, and recurring post engagement across a curated list of channels. #### Brand, PR, and social listening teams Track public Community posts from competitors, media brands, product teams, or industry creators so updates can be reviewed in one structured feed. #### Influencer and talent intelligence teams Compare how creators use Community posts, which formats receive visible engagement, and when channels announce launches, events, or merch drops. #### Agencies and reporting teams Build repeatable client reports from public YouTube activity. Export a dataset instead of copying posts manually into spreadsheets. #### Data engineers and automation builders Seed dashboards, alerts, enrichment jobs, and internal monitoring systems with normalized post records from selected public channels. ### Why use this scraper? Community posts are often where creators publish announcements, polls, teasers, event reminders, merch drops, and audience questions. This actor turns those public updates into a structured dataset that is easier to filter, store, enrich, and integrate with other tools. ### What data can you extract? | Field | Description | | --- | --- | | `channelUrl` | Normalized YouTube Posts tab URL | | `channelHandle` | Public channel handle when available | | `channelName` | Channel display name | | `postId` | YouTube Community post ID | | `postUrl` | Direct post URL | | `text` | Post text and linked text | | `publishedAtText` | Relative publish time shown by YouTube | | `publishedAt` | Reserved ISO timestamp field when available | | `likeCount` | Public like count parsed as a number | | `commentCount` | Public comment count parsed as a number | | `imageUrls` | Public image URLs attached to the post | | `pollOptions` | Public poll options and visible percentages | | `isPoll` | Whether the post appears to contain a poll | | `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp for the scrape | ### Pricing This Actor uses Apify pay-per-event pricing. The prices below come from the current Actor pricing configuration. Apify public plans map to Store discount tiers, so the table shows both the user-facing plan context and the pricing tier name. The final price shown in Apify depends on the user account plan and any custom agreement. | Event | What is charged | Price | | --- | --- | ---: | | `start` | One-time fee charged when a run starts. Covers fixed startup cost (init, proxy warmup, first HTTP setup). | $0.005 | | Event | What is charged | Free / no discount | Starter / Bronze | Scale / Silver | Business / Gold | Custom / Platinum | Custom / Diamond | | --- | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | `item` | Charged per public YouTube Community post extracted. | $0.18553 / 1,000 | $0.16133 / 1,000 | $0.12584 / 1,000 | $0.0968 / 1,000 | $0.06453 / 1,000 | $0.04517 / 1,000 | Apify may also charge platform usage for compute, storage, proxies, or data transfer outside this Actor pricing. Check the Actor run and the Apify Pricing tab for the exact cost shown to your account. ### How to use it 1. Open the actor on Apify. 2. Add one or more YouTube channel URLs or handles. 3. Set the maximum number of posts per channel. 4. Choose whether to include images and poll options. 5. Run the actor. 6. Download the dataset or connect it to your workflow. ### Input The main input is `channelUrls`. You can enter full channel Posts tab URLs, channel URLs, or public handles. ```json { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts", "@Google" ], "maxPostsPerChannel": 10, "includeImages": true, "includePollOptions": true } ```` ### Input options | Input | Type | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | `channelUrls` | array | YouTube channel URLs, `/posts` URLs, `/community` URLs, or `@handles` | | `maxPostsPerChannel` | integer | Maximum public Community posts to save per channel | | `includeImages` | boolean | Include public image URLs from post attachments | | `includePollOptions` | boolean | Include public poll option text and visible percentages when available | | `proxyConfiguration` | object | Optional Apify proxy configuration for blocked or regional workloads | ### Output Each dataset item represents one public Community post. ```json { "channelUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts", "channelHandle": "@YouTube", "channelName": "YouTube", "postId": "Ugkx...", "postUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkx...", "text": "Example public Community post text", "publishedAtText": "4 hours ago", "likeCount": 1200, "commentCount": 239, "imageUrls": [], "pollOptions": [], "isPoll": false, "scrapedAt": "2026-07-03T21:26:06.636Z" } ``` ### Example channel inputs ```json { "channelUrls": [ "@YouTube", "@Google", "https://www.youtube.com/@TeamYouTube/community", "https://www.youtube.com/@NASA/posts" ], "maxPostsPerChannel": 5 } ``` ### Tips for best results - Use the `/posts` tab URL when you have it. - Handles such as `@YouTube` are supported. - Keep the first run small while validating a new channel list. - Some channels may not have public Community posts. - Engagement values are public counts displayed by YouTube. - Use a channel list with multiple active channels for recurring monitoring. ### Images and polls When `includeImages` is enabled, the actor saves public image URLs from post attachments. When `includePollOptions` is enabled, the actor saves visible public poll options and vote percentages when YouTube exposes them. ### Limits The actor only extracts public channel Community posts. It does not log in, bypass private data, scrape private members-only posts, or access data hidden behind account permissions. ### Data quality The actor normalizes channel inputs, parses compact public counts such as `1.2K`, and records a scrape timestamp for each item. Fields that YouTube does not publicly expose may be `null` or empty arrays. ### Integrations Use the dataset with Google Sheets, Airtable, Make, Zapier, Slack alerts, dashboards, BI tools, and enrichment pipelines. Common workflows include daily channel monitoring, influencer campaign tracking, competitor content reporting, and campaign launch alerts. ### Workflow ideas - Send new Community posts from selected creators to Slack. - Build a weekly influencer monitoring spreadsheet. - Compare visible engagement by channel and post type. - Archive public announcements before a campaign launch. - Enrich posts with your own creator categories in a downstream workflow. ### API usage with Node.js ```js import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN }); const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper').call({ channelUrls: ['https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts'], maxPostsPerChannel: 10, }); console.log(run.defaultDatasetId); ``` ### API usage with Python ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient client = ApifyClient('MY_APIFY_TOKEN') run = client.actor('fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper').call(run_input={ 'channelUrls': ['https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts'], 'maxPostsPerChannel': 10, }) print(run['defaultDatasetId']) ``` ### API usage with cURL ```bash curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~youtube-community-posts-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \ -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \ -d '{"channelUrls":["https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts"],"maxPostsPerChannel":10}' ``` ### MCP usage Connect the actor to Apify MCP at `https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper` and ask Claude to monitor selected public YouTube channels, summarize new Community posts, or compare post engagement across creators. Claude Code setup: ```bash claude mcp add apify-youtube-community-posts https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper ``` Claude Desktop JSON setup: ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify-youtube-community-posts": { "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper" } } } ``` Example prompts: - "Run the YouTube Community Posts Scraper for these five channels and summarize the latest announcements." - "Find public Community posts with more than 1,000 likes from my channel list." - "Export the scraped posts into a campaign monitoring table." ### Scheduling Schedule the actor daily, weekly, or before campaign reporting windows. For monitoring use cases, store the dataset in Apify or export it to your database so you can compare new posts with earlier runs. ### Troubleshooting If a channel returns no items, confirm that the channel has a public Posts tab. Some channels do not use Community posts or may show content differently by region. If engagement fields are empty, YouTube may not expose the count for that post or channel at the time of scraping. If a channel URL fails, try the channel handle or the direct `/posts` tab URL. ### Legality This actor extracts publicly available YouTube pages. Use it responsibly, respect YouTube terms, and avoid collecting or processing personal data without a lawful basis. ### FAQ #### Can I scrape private or members-only posts? No. The actor only collects public content visible without logging in. #### Can I use handles instead of full URLs? Yes. Handles such as `@YouTube` are supported. #### Does the actor scrape comments? No. It extracts the public comment count for each post, not individual comment threads. #### Does it support polls? Yes, when public poll information is available and `includePollOptions` is enabled. #### Why do some channels return fewer posts than requested? Some channels publish fewer Community posts, hide older posts from the public Posts tab, or expose a smaller initial list to anonymous visitors. ### Related scrapers - [YouTube Channel Scraper](https://apify.com/fetch_cat/youtube-channel-scraper) - [YouTube Video Scraper](https://apify.com/fetch_cat/youtube-video-scraper) - [YouTube Comments Scraper](https://apify.com/fetch_cat/youtube-comments-scraper) - [YouTube Search Scraper](https://apify.com/fetch_cat/youtube-search-scraper) - [YouTube Shorts Scraper](https://apify.com/fetch_cat/youtube-shorts-scraper) ### Support If a public channel with visible Community posts does not return data, share the run URL and input so the issue can be reproduced. # Actor input Schema ## `channelUrls` (type: `array`): YouTube channel URLs, /@handles, /channel IDs, or handles. The actor reads the public Posts tab. ## `maxPostsPerChannel` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of Community posts to save for each channel. ## `includeImages` (type: `boolean`): Save public image URLs from Community post attachments when available. ## `includePollOptions` (type: `boolean`): Save public poll option text and visible vote percentages when available. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional Apify proxy settings. Datacenter proxies are usually enough; use residential only if YouTube blocks your workload. ## Actor input object example ```json { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts", "@Google" ], "maxPostsPerChannel": 10, "includeImages": true, "includePollOptions": true, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `overview` (type: `string`): No description # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts", "@Google" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts", "@Google", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "channelUrls": [ "https://www.youtube.com/@YouTube/posts", "@Google" ] }' | apify call fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch_cat/youtube-community-posts-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "YouTube Community Posts Scraper", "description": "Extract public YouTube Community posts, polls, images, likes, and comments from channel URLs or handles into a clean dataset.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "0gttwzKlppRDM5NeZ" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/fetch_cat~youtube-community-posts-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-fetch_cat-youtube-community-posts-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/fetch_cat~youtube-community-posts-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-fetch_cat-youtube-community-posts-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/fetch_cat~youtube-community-posts-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-fetch_cat-youtube-community-posts-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "channelUrls" ], "properties": { "channelUrls": { "title": "Channel URLs or handles", "type": "array", "description": "YouTube channel URLs, /@handles, /channel IDs, or handles. The actor reads the public Posts tab.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxPostsPerChannel": { "title": "Maximum posts per channel", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of Community posts to save for each channel.", "default": 10 }, "includeImages": { "title": "Include image URLs", "type": "boolean", "description": "Save public image URLs from Community post attachments when available.", "default": true }, "includePollOptions": { "title": "Include poll options", "type": "boolean", "description": "Save public poll option text and visible vote percentages when available.", "default": true }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Optional Apify proxy settings. Datacenter proxies are usually enough; use residential only if YouTube blocks your workload.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": false } } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```